October, 27 2020, 12:00am EDT

Patriotic Millionaires Blast SCOTUS Nomination Process as Illegitimate and Anti-American
“Republicans in the Senate have revealed their true colors. They are concerned with the accumulation of power at any cost, and nothing else.”
WASHINGTON
This evening, the Republican Majority of the United States Senate voted to confirm Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court on a party-line vote, just one week before a nationwide election to determine control of the White House and Senate.
In response to this vote, Morris Pearl, the Chair of the Patriotic Millionaires and a former managing director of BlackRock, Inc., issued the following statement:
"With the confirmation of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court, Republicans in the Senate have revealed their true colors. They are concerned with the accumulation of power at any cost, and nothing else.
They spent months ignoring the millions of American workers and businesses who desperately need aid during the covid-19 pandemic, only to burst into a frenzy of activity when they could use an empty SCOTUS seat to solidify their minority rule. Now, after packing the court with yet another right-wing idealogue in the midst of the most divisive and consequential election in American history, with tens of millions of votes already cast, they are going to slink away to their home states for the rest of the year, leaving the American people to fend for themselves.
Their decision to fill Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's seat in the midst of an ongoing election is illegitimate, un-democratic, and anti-American. Their decision to prioritize filling this SCOTUS seat while hundreds of Americans are dying every day of covid-19 is unforgivable. This illegitimate process has subverted our democracy, diminished the American people's faith in their government, and undermined the legitimacy of the Supreme Court for years to come."
The Patriotic Millionaires is a group of high-net worth Americans who share a profound concern about the destabilizing level of inequality in America. Our work centers on the two things that matter most in a capitalist democracy: power and money. Our goal is to ensure that the country's political economy is structured to meet the needs of regular Americans, rather than just millionaires. We focus on three "first" principles: a highly progressive tax system, a livable minimum wage, and equal political representation for all citizens.
(202) 446-0489LATEST NEWS
After Uproar, Trump Reverses on Mass Suspension of Student Visas
While the backtracking by the administration was welcome, one immigration expert warned people to "stay tuned for a round 2.0 of this."
Apr 25, 2025
This is a developing story... Please check back for possible updates...
A U.S. Department of Justice attorney told a federal court on Friday that the Trump administration will restore the visa status of thousands of foreign students after removing their information from a nationwide database, which led some universities to inform students that they must immediately self-deport and sparked numerous legal battles.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) terminated over 4,700 international students' records on the Student Exchange and Visitor Information System (SEVIS), which "sparked more than 100 lawsuits, with judges in more than 50 of the cases—spanning at least 23 states—ordering the administration to temporarily undo the actions," according toPolitco. "Dozens more judges seemed prepared to follow suit before Friday's reversal."
In a statement read aloud during a federal court hearing on Friday, Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Carilli explained that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) "is developing a policy that will provide a framework for SEVIS record terminations."
"Until such a policy is issued, the SEVIS records for plaintiff(s) in this case (and other similarly situated plaintiffs) will remain active or shall be reactivated if not currently active and ICE will not modify the record solely based on the NCIC finding that resulted in the recent SEVIS record termination," Carilli added, referring to the National Crime Information Center.
According toWUSA9's Jordan Fisher, Carilli also said the Department of Justice intends to file a similar statement in the other cases, but ICE reserves the right to terminate SEVIS records in the future based on student behavior.
The journalist added on social media that "I spoke with an attorney last night who said he's already talked to foreign students who left the U.S.—fearing they would be deported otherwise. This decision does not restore any canceled visas, and now they may face real difficulties returning."
Responding to the news on social media, American Immigration Council senior fellow Aaron Reichlin-Melnick said that "this is massive," but added this is "not the end" of the issue.
"ICE says it is going to develop a new policy to terminate SEVIS records legally in a way that aligns with their plans," he stressed. "So stay tuned for a round 2.0 of this—which would presumably be less chaotic, at the minimum."
Despite the development in the Washington, D.C. court, and the Justice Department's supposed plan to share its update with other courts across the country, some cases seem to be proceeding, at least for now.
Boston Globe reporter Steven Porter said on social media that he asked the ACLU of New Hampshire about the Friday statement, "(since they represent multiple plaintiffs whose SEVIS records were terminated), and legal director Gilles Bissonnette said they still don't know the nature or extent of these reversals."
"Bissonnette said the government hasn't given any indication that it intends to restore Dartmouth doctoral student Xiaotian Liu's student status absent an order from the court," so Liu still has 'an urgent and critical need' for immediate relief," Porter reported. "A federal judge in New Hampshire is likely to rule today on whether to grant a preliminary injunction in Liu's case. There is currently a temporary restraining order in place."
In addition to the SEVIS terminations, the Trump administration is targeting universities' federal funding as well as trying to deport several immigrants involved in campus protests against the U.S.-backed Israeli assault on the Gaza Strip, widely condemned as a genocide against Palestinians.
Keep ReadingShow Less
Slotkin Panned Online After Claiming That Voters Don't Know What 'Oligarchy' Means
"It's condescending to say that the median person doesn't understand what oligarchy is," said one progressive strategist. "They're living it."
Apr 25, 2025
U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders' tour headlined with this word has drawn more than 107,000 Americans in blue and deep-red states alike. Former President Joe Biden's use of it in his farewell speech prompted a spike in Google searches. And one recent poll found that a majority of U.S. voters, including 54% of Democrats and more than two-thirds of Independents, know exactly what it means.
Yet Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) was among the Democratic politicians insisting this week that no one does.
The word is "oligarchy"—a government ruled by a small group of elites—and as experts have warned for years, the U.S. increasingly resembles one. As Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) have told huge crowds in places like Nampa, Idaho and Greeley, Colorado in recent weeks, President Donald Trump's alliance with billionaire tech mogul Elon Musk has made the country's shift even more obvious.
But even as evidence mounts that Americans understand that the political system has been captured by corporations and the wealthiest people—and are living their day-to-day lives with the results, including higher healthcare costs and disinvestment in public services—Slotkin toldPolitico on Thursday that Democrats should "stop using the term 'oligarchy,' a phrase she said doesn't resonate beyond coastal institutions."
On Bluesky, The Nation writer John Nichols said that the tens of thousands people who have packed stadiums and parks in recent weeks to hear Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez speak would disagree with Slotkin.
Michigan Senator Elissa Slotkin says Democrats should stop using the term "oligarchy" because, she says, no one knows what it means. These people say she’s wrong.
[image or embed]
— John Nichols (@nicholsuprising.bsky.social) April 24, 2025 at 8:00 PM
Slotkin's advice for Democrats, which she dubbed her "war plan" and gave ahead of several speeches she has planned, also included a call for the party to stop being "weak and woke," phrases she said she heard in Michigan focus groups.
Her comments echoed those of former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, a longtime Democratic operative who told California Gov. Gavin Newsom on his podcast last week that using terms like "oligarchs" and "special interests" makes Democrats "worse marketers"; Newsom appeared to agree that people don't "understand" what an oligarchy is.
Emanuel also appeared on the political and pop culture podcast "I've Had It," hosted by Jennifer Welch and Angie Sullivan, and seemed caught of guard when Welch took him to task for his suggestion that Democrats should end their advocacy for issues that affect transgender Americans.
"That is total bullshit, that is buying into the right-wing media narrative, and I'm so sick of Democrats like you selling out and saying this," said Welch. "You know who talks about trans people more than anybody? MAGA... We've got to fucking fight. They're the gender-obsessed weirdos, not us. We're the ones who fight for Social Security, we fight for Medicare, and yeah, we're not gonna bully trans people."
Semafor political reporter Dave Weigel said Emanuel's derision of the word "oligarchy" is a clear "shot at Sanders/AOC, who keep saying it."
At one stop on the Fighting Oligarchy Tour recently, Sanders told a crowd that the enthusiasm for his and Ocasio-Cortez's message is "scaring the hell out of" Trump and Musk.
But shortly after Slotkin's comments, Ocasio-Cortez remarked—without naming the senator—that "plenty of politicians on both sides of the aisle feel threatened by rising class consciousness."
Angelo Greco, a progressive strategist who works with grassroots organizations including Our Revolution and One Fair Wage, told Common Dreams on Friday that establishment Democrats' dismissal of the term oligarchy is "out of touch" and "underestimates" voters.
"Tell me that farmers don't understand what the oligarchy is when there's a consolidation of the agribusiness that impacts them. Tell me that workers in Michigan don't understand what it means when trade deals that are written by multinational corporations have led to lower wages and plant closures," said Greco. "It's condescending to say that the median person doesn't understand what oligarchy is. They're living it."
Keep ReadingShow Less
'Fascism Getting Turned Up' as Trump FBI Arrests Wisconsin County Judge
"It's clear that actions like Judge Dugan's are what is required for democracy to survive the Trump regime," said one state lawmaker.
Apr 25, 2025
This is a breaking story... Please check back for possible updates...
Federal agents arrested a sitting Wisconsin judge on Friday, accusing her of helping an undocumented immigrant evade arrest after he appeared in her courtroom last week, FBI Director Kash Patel said on social media.
In a since-deleted post, Patel said the FBI arrested 65-year-old Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan "on charges of obstruction."
"We believe Judge Dugan intentionally misdirected federal agents away from the subject to be arrested in her courthouse... allowing the subject—an illegal alien—to evade arrest," Patel wrote. "Thankfully, our agents chased down the perp on foot and he's been in custody since, but the judge's obstruction created increased danger to the public."
FBI arrests judge in escalation of Trump immigration enforcement effort Federal agents arrested Milwaukee Circuit Court Judge Hannah Dugan on obstruction charges. Dugan is accused of “helping” an immigrant evade arrest. The fascism getting turned up!
[image or embed]
— RootsAction ( @rootsaction.org) April 25, 2025 at 8:05 AM
It is unclear why Patel deleted the post. U.S. Marshals Service spokesperson Brady McCarron and multiple Milwaukee County judges confirmed Dugan's arrest, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. McCarron said Dugan is facing two federal felony counts: obstruction and concealing an individual.
The Journal Sentinel reported that Dugan "appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Stephen C. Dries during a brief hearing in a packed courtroom at the federal courthouse" and "made no public comments during the brief hearing."
Dugan's attorney, Craig Mastantuono, told the court that "Judge Dugan wholeheartedly regrets and protests her arrest," which "was not made in the interest of public safety."
The FBI had reportedly been investigating allegations that Dugan helped the undocumented man avoid arrest by letting him hide in her chambers.
Here's the magistrate-signed complaint in US v. Dugan. She's charged with two counts, 18 USC 1505 and 1701; it doesn't appear they used a grand jury.
[image or embed]
— southpaw (@nycsouthpaw.bsky.social) April 25, 2025 at 9:13 AM
Wisconsin state Rep. Ryan Clancy (D-19) said in a statement Wednesday that "several witnesses report that [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] did not present a warrant before entering the courtroom and it is not clear whether ICE ever possessed or presented a judicial warrant, generally required for agents to access non-public spaces like Judge Dugan's chambers."
Clancy continued:
I commend Judge Hannah Dugan's defense of due process by preventing ICE from shamefully using her courtroom as an ad hoc holding area for deportations. We cannot have a functional legal system if people are justifiably afraid to show up for legal proceedings, especially when ICE agents have already repeatedly grabbed people off the street in retaliation for speech and free association, without even obtaining the proper warrants.
While the facts in this case are still unfolding, it's clear that actions like Judge Dugan's are what is required for democracy to survive the Trump regime. She used her position of power and privilege to protect someone from an agency that has repeatedly, flagrantly abused its own power. If enough of us act similarly, and strategically, we can stand with our neighbors and build a better world together.
Prominent Milwaukee defense attorney and former federal prosecutor Franklyn Gimbel called Dugan's arrest "very, very outrageous."
"First and foremost, I know—as a former federal prosecutor and as a defense lawyer for decades—that a person who is a judge, who has a residence who has no problem being found, should not be arrested, if you will, like some common criminal," Gimbel told the Journal Sentinel.
"And I'm shocked and surprised that the U.S. Attorney's office or the FBI would not have invited her to show up and accept process if they're going to charge her with a crime," he added.
FBI has arrested Judge Hannah Dugan in Milwaukee, WI, for "helping an illegal escape arrest." FBI hasn't provided an arrest warrant or criminal complaint, but Judge Dugan already sits behind bars. We told you it would escalate when they disappeared immigrants without due process. This is fascism.
— Qasim Rashid, Esq. ( @qasimrashid.com) April 25, 2025 at 9:21 AM
Julius Kim, another former prosecutor-turned defense lawyer, said on the social media site X that "practicing in Milwaukee, I know Judge Hannah Dugan well. She's a good judge, and this entire situation demonstrates how the Trump administration's policies are heading for a direct collision course with the judiciary."
"That being said, given the FBI director's tweet (since deleted), they are going to try to politicize this situation to the max," Kim added. "That sounds an awful lot like weaponizing the DOJ, doesn't it?"
Responding to Dugan's arrest, U.S. Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) said on the social media site Bluesky: "The Trump admin has arrested a judge in Milwaukee. This is a red alert moment. We must all rise up against it."
Keep ReadingShow Less
Most Popular